The Empress's First Running Dog

Chapter 677 The Founding Emperor of Yu in the Boxing Gym (5k)

The enormous moon above the Mubei Forest was once again obscured by clouds.

After the enormous monster in the forest died, its remaining limbs and severed parts still bled profusely.

Wearing a silver mask, a round conical hat, and an ancient sorcerer's robe, Pei Niannu stared coldly at Zhao Du'an, slowly sheathing the short sword she had wiped clean with snow at her waist.

Master.

Does Zhao Du'an have a master in this world?

There is.

If you really have to count them, there are actually two.

One was Old Xu, whom he encountered at the top of the mountain in the "Martial God Map" when he first entered the "Martial God" path. In the map, Emperor Taizu took him across the desert and snowfields to the East China Sea and taught him his initial skills.

Then there are the two versions of "Pei Niannu" that appear in the Six Chapters Sutra and the Great Dream Scroll.

They had all taught the skills.

The woman before them was none other than the "silver-armored" female sorcerer who should have existed six hundred years ago, the one who roamed the martial world.

But... why?
Zhao Du'an was completely stunned, lost in a profound sense of bewilderment; everything before him was utterly absurd.

Not to mention that Pei Niannu had already died, leaving only her soul, which was somehow preserved in the Six Chapters Sutra.

Even if Pei Niannu could truly "resurrect," she should be the golden-armored version, not this one.

"Yes... the golden-armored Pei Niannu who was floating beside me just now has merged into the center of this silver armor's brow..." Zhao Du'an cautiously probed.
"Master... Master? Which version are you... No, I mean, are you someone I summoned, or..."

The two-in-one Pei Niannu before them was clearly a "living person".

Hearing his question, her silver eyes dimmed slightly, but she didn't answer directly. Instead, her gaze swept over the faces of the Empress, Zhang Yanyi, and Tuoba Weizhi in turn, before she coldly said:

"You're from outside?"

Then, she stared at Zhao Du'an again, her gaze meaningful:

"Did you bring them here?"

Outside? She knows we come from outside the Mubei Forest… Zhao Du'an's mind raced.

At this moment, Xu Zhenguan stepped forward, and the Empress, with a hint of excitement in her eyes, spoke:

"I...I am the current emperor of the Great Yu royal family, and I have come here specifically..."

“I don’t care who you are,” Pei Niannu interrupted her abruptly, speaking calmly:

"Whether you are emperors or sorcerers, since you have come here, you must abide by the rules of this place."

I know you have many questions you want to ask, but these are questions I shouldn't answer. Give you fifteen minutes to rest and get ready, then follow me.

"Where to?" Zhang Yan asked after a moment's thought.

Pei Niannu said calmly:

"Go wherever you want to go."

After saying that, Pei Niannu abandoned them and went straight to the monster's corpse on the ground. She then searched through it and dug out an "inner core" the size of a goose egg.

After putting away the inner core, she walked straight to the side and began to meditate cross-legged.

"This……"

The four people looked at each other in bewilderment. Everything was too strange. Not to mention, why Pei Niannu, who had died six hundred years ago, was living in this forest and was in the prime of her life, and the other party's attitude was also very strange.

Moreover…most importantly, the other party actually knew Zhao Du'an and acknowledged their "master-disciple" relationship…it was as if the other party knew about Zhao Du'an becoming her disciple in "The Great Dream Scroll"…

"Strange... Strange things are everywhere here..."

Zhao Du'an felt his mind was in complete disarray; even with his intelligence, he couldn't understand it at all.

Zhang Yan hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice:
"I have a feeling that she came to pick us up, and that she knew we were coming. Also... that Pei you summoned earlier..."

He paused, turned his head, and saw the female sorceress in the distance meditating with her eyes closed, not looking in their direction, before continuing:

"Was her saying she would lead the way for us a kind of mutual attraction?"

Zhao Du'an said:

"What the Celestial Master means is that the Senior Pei I summoned is like a flag in our team, sending out a... signal?"
Did that attract my master to find us? Senior Pei brought us here just to reunite with my master and thus provide backup?

You keep calling me "Master," and it sounds so natural to you...

"Pah, shameless..." Zhang Yan thought to himself, but nodded on the surface.

This is a logical guess; otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why the silver-armored Pei Niannu was able to arrive in time to provide assistance.

Xu Zhenguan walked straight to the tent and said:
"I have a feeling that the answer is very close. Let's pack up and get ready to catch up."

She seemed somewhat excited and agitated... as if she couldn't wait. Zhao Du'an noticed her flushed face and understood the reason for Zhenbao's excitement:
If Pei Niannu lived in this forest 600 years ago, then Old Xu might very well be alive too!

even……

It was Lao Xu who sent Pei Niannu to meet them!

This conjecture was not without evidence, because the "merging of two Pei Niannus" seemed strange to outsiders, but the Empress thought of something.

"Soul Splitting Technique!"

She explained to Zhao Du'an in a low voice:
"The soul-splitting technique mastered by the founding emperor!"

Zhao Du'an suddenly realized:
Pei Niannu's dual souls are extremely similar to the Empress's current true body in Xiping Road, where a wisp of her soul is separated and follows her.
If it was Old Xu who saved Pei Niannu back then, and then used the "soul splitting" method to cut her into two parts, with one part remaining in her true body and existing in this forbidden forest.

Another part is hidden inside the murals... Theoretically, this is feasible.

With this in mind, the group didn't delay any longer and quickly began packing their things and resting.

Fortunately, although they had fought with the monster, none of them were seriously injured. A quarter of an hour later, Pei Niannu opened her eyes, didn't even look at them, stood up and walked into the darkness.

"Master, slow down..." Zhao Du'an took out a few torches, lit them on the campfire, and then extinguished the fire with snow. The four of them, each with a torch, hurriedly followed.

"Master," Zhao Du'an fawned, leaning closer.

"Is it not safe to travel so late at night? What if we encounter that again..."

Pei Niannu didn't even look at him, and said coldly:
"We won't encounter it. This entire area is that beast's territory."

Zhao Du'an was exceptionally intelligent and immediately understood:

The Mubei Forest seemed to have been divided into pieces of territory by powerful monsters.

Monsters definitely have a sense of territory and will not easily cross each other's boundaries.

Therefore, as long as you don't leave this territory, you won't encounter a second monster.

As expected, the rest of the journey went very smoothly, and the group did not encounter any further danger.

When they occasionally encounter small wild animals, they always keep their distance.

With the cultivation levels of Zhao Du'an and his companions, they could easily go for several days without sleep without getting tired. Now, they could travel boldly and without any burden at night.

Along the way, the group tried to talk to Pei Niannu several times, but they were all turned down. Pei Niannu seemed to be completely indifferent to them and did not respond to any of their indirect attempts to get her to talk.

A few hours later.

As night fell and the sky brightened, the group heard the rushing sound of water ahead when the morning light illuminated the woods.

A river!

Zhao Du'an actually saw a river running through the Mubei Forest!

This river isn't large, only an order of magnitude wider and deeper than a stream; it's a small river. But strangely, in this cold winter, the river hasn't frozen over!

I reached my hand into the river and felt a slight warmth!

A warm river that never freezes!
"You have half an hour to build a bamboo raft to cross the river," Pei Niannu said coldly, her silver eyes sweeping over the group as she stood by the riverbank.

The four people, who could shake the world with a single stomp of their feet in the outside world, were now being scolded like servants.

However, considering that the other party was an ancient person and a senior who had once reached the Celestial Realm, even Zhang Yanyi had no temper.

The four quickly got to work, cutting down trees and securing them with sturdy vines. Half an hour later, a large, sturdy bamboo raft, big enough to carry five people with some to spare, slid into the warm river.

The group boarded the bamboo raft. Zhang Yan took out a yellow paper talisman with cinnabar inscription from his sleeve and stuck it on the raft. Then, gusts of wind swirled around, propelling the raft rapidly into deeper waters.

"Crash-"

The group sat on the bamboo raft, enjoying a long-awaited rest.

Zhao Du'an turned his head and looked at Pei Niannu, who was sitting cross-legged alone at the front of the bamboo raft, covered in silver armor, and couldn't help but say:
"Master, there seem to be no fish in this river? Is there any danger?"

Pei Niannu replied coldly, "No."

Zhao Du'an immediately felt relieved, and casually took off his shoes and socks, dipping his feet, which were red from the cold, into the warm river.

Everyone: "..."

Zhao Du'an said, "Why are you looking at me? If you don't believe me, try it yourself, it's quite relaxing."

A moment later, the Empress, Zhang Yanyi, and Tuoba Weizhi followed suit, dipping their feet into the water and comfortably squinting their eyes as the bamboo raft moved forward.

Xu Zhen watched the trees rushing past on both banks and suddenly said with concern:

"We should have left the territory of the last monster by now, right?" The implication was, had they entered a new, dangerous area?
Pei Niannu said calmly, "There is no danger within this river area."

That was the last thing she said that day, and she never spoke again.

The bamboo raft carried the group quickly deeper into the river, which was not straight but meandered.

During the process, Zhao Du'an sensed powerful auras approaching from the riverbank several times, but they stopped once they got close to the river, as if no demon would dare to invade this place.

"Safe Zone," Zhao Du'an silently named the river.

Then, he realized a new problem:

They had been traveling for a day and were still on the road. How did Pei Niannu manage to get to them so quickly last night?
Did they arrive at the outer perimeter well in advance? Is that why they were able to arrive on time?
The bamboo raft was much faster than walking, and in the blink of an eye, the sun was setting and the second night arrived.

However, in the evening, the bamboo raft passed by a "village".

Yes!

village!

Pei Niannu got up, ordered the bamboo raft to stop at a small "dock" on the shore, and then led the group ashore, walking towards an open area in the distance.

This place turned out to be a valley, with rows of wooden houses inside, and some residents cooking over a fire.

These residents included the elderly and children, men and women. Zhao Du'an glanced at them and found that, apart from the children, almost all of them were cultivators, but their cultivation levels were mostly not high.

The clothes of these people were somewhat rough, many of them made of animal hides. Some of the people of status wore cloth clothes with slightly rough stitches, as if they had made them themselves.

Her appearance is not much different from that of others.

These people clearly knew Pei Niannu, and they showed him great respect. They also showed great curiosity about Zhao Du'an and his group.

During the process, they asked some questions in a somewhat obscure and difficult-to-understand way, but upon closer listening, it seemed to be the same language as the outside world.

"It's the dialect of the northern residents of Qi Kingdom," Tuoba Weizhi suddenly said.
“Listen carefully, and you can tell the difference.”

Zhao Du'an was taken aback, about to say something, but Pei Niannu turned around, glanced at him, and said:

"These people originally lived here, but they haven't communicated with the outside world for a long time."

Xu Zhenguan said:
"Does the senior mean they are citizens of the Qi Kingdom?"

Pei Niannu neither agreed nor disagreed, and then said:
"This village is called Peach Blossom Spring."

Peach Blossom Spring... Others didn't notice it, but Zhao Du'an's heart stirred. Was it a coincidence?
Or was it deliberately named after a story about Earth?
However, he quickly realized that something was wrong:
According to Tuoba Weizhi, a thousand years ago, there were indeed a small number of residents in the Mubei Forest, but after a huge forest fire, those residents should have fled. After that, a barrier was erected, and the area became a restricted zone, and no people would enter it again.

So, are these people descendants of the residents who didn't evacuate back then?

Or are they descendants of those who later entered this forest but never left? And why didn't they leave?

His brows furrowed in confusion.

However, having understood Pei Niannu's personality, he did not press the matter, but instead kept quiet and entered the village with the Empress and the others.

……

That night.

The villagers of Peach Blossom Spring prepared a simple feast to welcome their arrival.

The villagers set up tables in the square, lit a bonfire, and used ceramic pots to hold pieces of roasted meat. They also brought out jars of fruit wine and many strange and unusual vegetables that did not exist outside the village.

The Empress's mind wasn't on the food, but she couldn't help but ask, "Is this the place you brought us here, senior?"

This village was too ordinary; the person she was looking for wasn't there.

Pei Niannu sat in a chair, cutting a large, fragrant piece of meat with her short sword, and shook her head, saying:

"No."

No? Zhang Yan stroked his beard: "Then why did you stop here?"

Pei Niannu gave him a strange look, then said matter-of-factly, "I'm hungry."

Zhang Yanyi: "..."

Well, in the end, it was our group that was too impatient.

At this moment, Tuoba Weizhi, who was engrossed in eating and drinking, opened a wine jar, picked it up and took a sip. Then, with a soft exclamation, he reached into the wine jar with his small hand and, in full view of everyone, pulled out an inner core.

Zhang Yan's eyes lit up:
"A demon core of excellent quality would be a valuable item even in ancient times, and it is extremely rare in the outside world today."

Zhao Du'an also opened a jar of wine and found another one inside. Clearly, this thing was used here to make wine, similar to the function of ginseng...

Then, to their surprise, they discovered that the fragrant leaves used to wrap the meat on the table were precious plants that would cost hundreds of taels of silver per leaf.

The chopped "dry dipping sauces" on the plate were made from extremely precious and rare herbs.

This forest, which had been sealed away for so many years, was like a treasure trove, giving the group a great shock.

After finishing dinner, Pei Niannu stood up. She had no intention of staying overnight, but instead led the others to bid farewell to the village and prepare to continue their journey.

The villagers walked to the village entrance to see them off.

Just as the two were saying goodbye, an unexpected event occurred.

At the back of the crowd, an old man dressed in plain clothes, with disheveled white hair and seemingly a bit crazy, pushed his way through the crowd, staring wide-eyed at Zhao Du'an.

Suddenly his knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground, excitedly kowtowing to Zhao Du'an, shouting something loudly in his dialect, repeating it over and over...

The villagers rushed to help him and took him away.

"This is..." Xu Zhenguan couldn't help but ask.

Pei Niannu said calmly:

"This was the previous village chief of Peach Blossom Spring. Later, he got too old, and his mind became sometimes clear and sometimes confused, so he didn't come out much anymore."

Zhang Yan asked, "What did he just shout?"

Pei Niannu did not answer, but turned and walked towards the bamboo raft, saying calmly:

"It's getting late, let's go."

The group exchanged glances and followed in silence, but Zhao Du'an's brows furrowed even more deeply.

He wasn't sure if he'd heard correctly, but he vaguely recognized a few words in the old village chief's northern dialect, which seemed to be...

"Grandmaster."

Master? Whom does he call master? And who among us does he see as who?

……

Throughout the rest of the journey, the words of the mad old village chief kept echoing in Zhao Du'an's mind.

The group ventured deeper into the northern forest, and along the way, they saw traces of villages, suggesting that there was more than one settlement along the river.

On the second night, the group did not reach the village and simply found a place to rest. Pei Niannu wanted to go hunting, but Zhao Du'an stopped her.

He took out the food he had prepared from the capital from the scroll. Pei Niannu was initially a little embarrassed, but after eating a pastry from the famous restaurant in the capital, his eyes behind his mask lit up slightly.

Next, she used her authority as "master" to forcibly take over all the pastries and ate them all... Her gaze toward her disciple Zhao Du'an became increasingly satisfied.

On the third day, we continued our journey.

Based on his rough map, Zhao Du'an repeatedly calculated and discovered that the group had reached the central area of ​​the forest.

……

evening.

The bamboo raft stopped once again at a larger dock.

The group went ashore and saw the largest village they had seen along the way—no, it should even be called a town.

The town is filled with houses built of brick, stone and wood, standing side by side, and there are even some shops!
The architectural style was also quite ancient, characteristic of the Great Qi Dynasty. Zhao Du'an was even astonished to see some lanterns and paper-like objects, which only deepened his confusion.
This place has been isolated from the outside world for so many years. Even if some everyday items were preserved from a thousand years ago, how could they still be usable after so long?
After entering the town, the group found that the residents here were much more affluent, and residents along the way would nod and bow to Pei Niannu from time to time.

The group walked along the stone-paved road in the center of the town, and even passed a "school" where a teacher was giving a lesson to a group of children.

This made them even more bewildered.

Finally, Pei Niannu led the four of them to a boxing gym in the small town. Yes, on the lintel of the courtyard, the words "Xu Family Boxing Gym" were written in large black characters on the wood.

“The person you’re looking for is inside.” Pei Niannu glanced at the four of them, then took a few steps back to make room.

Zhao Du'an hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand to stop the Empress who was about to step forward, shook his head, and then stepped forward himself. He raised his hand, pressed it against the door, and pushed it hard!
"Squeak-"

The wooden door was pushed open from the outside in, revealing a clean courtyard under the setting sun, with two main rooms and side rooms on the left and right.

In the center of the courtyard, a large, fiery red banyan tree stands out!

That banyan tree was extremely ancient and very large. Bathed in the setting sun, every leaf seemed to be burning!
Under the banyan tree, there is a well, and next to the well, there is a stone table and several stone benches.

At this moment, an old boxing master, dressed in a simple cloth shirt, with slightly graying temples and a burly build, was standing under a tree, performing a set of boxing moves at a moderate pace.

With each breath, streaks of sunset, like flames, swirled around him, dazzlingly beautiful.

Hearing the door open, the old boxer slowly withdrew his fist, looked up at the courtyard gate, met the eyes of the group, and smiled slightly.
"You are here."

Zhao Du'an felt as if he had been struck by a heavy blow:
Emperor Taizu of Yu!
(End of this chapter)